Caterpillar Secrets
by Pout
Summary: Hx?. Alternate pairings. When Duo falls for Dorothy, Hilde makes plans to get him back.


Author's Note: Thanks a bunch of grapes to Jooles, the bestest beta-reader ever! ^_~

Disclaimer: Characters are not mine.  Apologies if their use in the following is in any way traumatic.

Caterpillar Secrets

By Pout

                She was in shock.  At present, she found herself staring across some ridiculous amount of space at her outrageously happy ex-boyfriend, able to offer only the expression of utter, extreme shock.  Her eyes had achieved perfect roundness and her mouth was in the process of moving from agape to gaping.  The feisty muscle under her right eye, the one that was so well attuned to her moods, was twitching as if some sort of angry magic beanstalk was trying to burst out of her right cheek.  She took a deep breath and snapped her lips shut, lest hasty words come a' tumbling.

                "Hilde?  You ok?  I know it's kinda soon and all but-"

                "No, I'm… fine!  Duo!  I'm… so happy for you!"  Later, she would reflect on the conversation that affectively changed her life and wonder how she had managed to sound so calm and indifferent, if not particularly sincere.  "That's great news."

                On the screen, the man smiled and his eyes grew distant.  "She's just so perfect for me, Hilde."  She felt her jaw tightening as she noted his hazy, fluffy sounding voice, the voice of a very smitten kitten.  He continued to ramble on about how beautiful and charming and witty his new love was, how the sound of her voice could make him do this and that.  But Hilde's mind was elsewhere by then.  "You're still coming back in a week, right?"  His question cut through the red storm in her mind and she blinked forcibly.

                "Hm?  Oh.  Yes, in a week.  You're supposed to pick me up."

                "We'll be there," he said with a grin and a nod.  "It'll be great having you back."

                "Um hm," she agreed with a "sweet" smile of her own.

                "Alright, well, see you then, babe."

                "Bye, Duo."

                As soon as his image disappeared from the view screen she threw herself out of her seat and started to shriek as she stomped out of the room and down the halls.

                The first person to come running was Catherine, who was clutching a book in one hand and a giant butcher knife in the other.  Her eyes were wild and her red hair was blazing like a fiery halo around her head as she came barreling down the hall.  "What?  What is it?!" she was screaming.  Halfway down the hall, a near-stabbing occurred as Trowa emerged in time for a close encounter with his sister's butcher knife.   He led the way with the measured steps of a trained soldier and his fully loaded sidearm in hand.  The two siblings slowed their approach and as Hilde's words slowly worked their way into coherent meaning, they could only sigh and put down their respective weapons.

                Hilde was in the middle of the room, screaming.  "How could he?  He found someone else already?!  I haven't even started looking!  The little slut bastard!  Oh, but I love him!  Of for crying out loud!  I'm gonna kill him!  No, I'm gonna kill _her_!  Yeah!  Just rip her little blond head off!  Haha!  _Then_ how's he gonna marry her?  Yeah.  Urg!  Why Dorothy?!  Of all the…" and thus her tirade continued.

                By then, Quatre and a good number of Maguanacs had showed up and there was much grumbling about "female hysterics."  Left alone at last with Catherine, her brother, and their host, Quatre, Hilde managed to calm herself down enough to stutter out an explanation, though her eye continued to twitch madly.

                "We broke up two months ago," she said through clenched teeth.

                "_You_ broke up with him, two months ago," Catherine corrected, earning her a withering glare from the distraught girl.

                "I left to "give him time" a month after that.  And in a month he's already found his soul mate?  What the hell?!  He wants to marry her?  And it's _Dorothy_?"

                "What's wrong with Dorothy?" asked Catherine.

                Hilde turned on her.  "It's _Dorothy_!"

                "She has a point," Quatre chimed in.  Hilde flung a hand out towards him in an "and there you go" type gesture.

                "Fine," the redhead conceded.  "So it's Dorothy.  So what?  Shouldn't you be happy for him?  You guys are still best friends.  Right?  That's the reason you never moved out, isn't it?"

                Hilde's eyebrows came together as she nodded reluctantly.  "Yeah, but…"  She couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence.

                "But what?" Trowa prodded evenly.

                "But what if I was wrong?" she asked her three close friends.  "What if he's the one for me?  What if he's the only guy that's ever going to be able to say he loves me?  What if he's the only one who _can_ ever love me?  Did I mistakenly throw that away?"

                Catherine sighed.  "Oh come on, Hilde, you broke up with him for a reason.  You guys were friends who made out occasionally.  You said it yourself: it wasn't a romance."

                "He told me he loved me.  And I know I love him, too.  Maybe I just haven't realized what that meant until now."

                Behind her she heard Quatre sigh heavily then ask, "So what are you going to do about it now?"  She turned around to face him directly.

                "I want him back.  I'm gonna go and get him back."  As soon as her words were said, she could hear them all blinking around her, as if in doing so, the fact would be easier to digest.

                "You're _what_?" asked Catherine, an incredulous laugh at the back of her throat.

                "Help me," Hilde asked.  "Please?  Help me get him back."

                "You're going to break up his happy romance just so you won't be lonely?!" cried Catherine indignantly.

                "He's not _really_ in love with her!" Hilde found herself screaming back at her friend.  "They met, like, two days ago!  You know how he can be."

                "I _cannot_ believe you!" the redhead shouted and shook her head angrily.

                Hilde turned to the other two: "Please, you guys?  I need you to help me."

                Suddenly, Trowa reached out to clasp her tiny wrist in his hand.  "Is this what you really want?" he asked, his voice soft and intense.

                "What?!" Catherine and Quatre shouted simultaneously.

                Ignoring them, Hilde turned and latched onto the deep green of Trowa's eyes and answered, "Yes.  I want him back."

                "Trow-a!" Quatre was sputtering.  "I can't believe you!  You idiot!"

                "Quatre, don't be mean," Hilde admonished.

                "_Mean_?!" Quatre gasped.  "But he just-" and suddenly all the fight just fell right out of his body.  He expelled a pitiful sigh.  "Oh, fine."

                "Quatre, you're kidding," Catherine said in disgust.

                In contrast, Hilde's eyes brightened.  "Quatre, you'll help me?"  She watched him roll his eyes and nod.  "Catherine?"

                The older girl shook her head firmly.  "No help, but I will turn a blind eye to all your madness, even though I should be calling him up myself and warning him about his crazy ex-girlfriend.  _I_ don't believe in breaking lovers up."  She got up and began to walk away, pausing by the door to add, "Or screwing over potential romances."

                Once she had left their presence, Trowa tugged on Hilde's arm and she complacently sat down next to him on the sofa.  "So what exactly do you have planned?" he asked.

                "Ok, he's going to ask her soon, so here's what we do…"

                Duo was happy to see Hilde again after her extended stay with Quatre.  He was also more than a bit surprised to see his old comrades accompanying her down the ramp.  She was wearing his favorite dress, the one with the tie-up back that he used to love playing with back when they were still going out.  At his side, Dorothy smiled up at him with her full red lips and he felt compelled to lean over and kiss her lightly.  She gave a slight giggle and they turned back to face their new arrivals.

                "Hey," he said in greeting as Hilde flung herself at him (effectively dislodging the future fiancé).  He laughed and spun her around setting her down again and clapping his old friends on the back in proper manly fashion.  "I didn't know you guys were coming."

                "The more the merrier," a voice from the periphery called out.  "Quatre, Trowa."

                "Dorothy," the two men answered cordially.

                "How have you been, Miss Catalonia?" Quatre asked politely.

                "Come on," Duo called, moving the procession towards the parking lot and the car.  On the long ride home, they covered a great wealth of topics: Duo and Dorothy's spontaneous courtship, Hilde's extended vacation, Quatre's business, Trowa's sister and their circus, old friends, politics, weather.  By the time they got home, the group was well acquainted and comfortable with one another, except for the hidden hostility that Hilde harbored, of course.

                The home that she had not seen in over a month was not what it should have been.  After a month of Hilde-lessness, their house should have been showing blatant signs of Duo-wear.  There should have been a mountain of dishes in the sink and on the counter and the table and the floor of the kitchen.  There should have been nothing in the fridge.  There should have been an avalanche of old newspapers and outdated magazines on the coffee table in the living room, spilling out onto the floor, under the couch.  There should have been rings around the toilet bowl, watermarks in the tub, spots all over the mirrors.  There should have been clothing covering every viable piece of furniture.  There should have been dust-bunnies munching on dust-grass growing in dust-meadows by dust-rivers.  It was supposed to be a pigsty.

                "Dorothy's been keeping me clean.  Surprising, isn't it?" her roommate said with cheerful humor.  She fought to keep her teeth from grinding together.  "She's great for me," he said and Hilde had to turn away before he saw the psychotic look that suddenly took over her face.

                For dinner, Dorothy made lasagna, which, to Hilde's ultimate disappointment, did not kill anyone and in fact tasted quite satisfactory.  After a few hours of quaint conversation, mostly consisting of the revival of old inside jokes between Hilde and her ex (as was according to plan), the happy couple retired to Duo's room—together, much to Hilde's disgust and frustration.

                Later that night, when she barged in on her two accomplices as they were settling in to the guest room, she was ready to quit.

                "They're sleeping together, the little whores," she hissed as she paced the length of the room.  "I can't do it.  She's got her claws in him too deep.  This is never going to work."

                The two men exchanged glances.  

                She continued: "They have some real chemistry.  They're not as close as _we_ were but they're pretty damn close."

                "Alright, so we'll call it off," Quatre said happily.

                Hilde closed her mouth and nodded dejectedly.

                "You won't want to stay here, then.  You can come back and live with me," Quatre offered.

                Then she broke down and cried.

                "Hilde," Trowa began as he petted the top of her head, "Are you going to do this or not?"

                "I don't know," she whined.

                Quatre shook his head.  "They're very happy together, maybe you should just let them be.  I know you'll find someone else."  She began to cry harder and Trowa sent him the 'shut up' look.  Quatre rolled his eyes, dragged a hand through his hair, scowled, and then went back to unpacking.

                Trowa pulled the distressed girl into his lap and spoke: "If you want to do this, we'll help you.  It's your choice."  She sat there for another few moments before she picked herself up, wiped at her eyes and laughed at herself.

                "Thanks, you guys," she said quietly, then walked over to the door.

                "So?  Are we doing this thing or not?" asked Quatre.

                She was nodding, "Yeah.  We'll try, anyways."  Then she disappeared out the door.

                The next day, the house was abuzz with flirtation.  Hilde flirted with Duo, Duo flirted with Dorothy, Trowa flirted with Dorothy, Quatre flirted with Dorothy, Quatre flirted with Hilde; it was all a big mess.  At last, in a rare quiet moment after another lovely dinner, Trowa and Quatre cornered Duo and dragged him outside to have a 'talk.'

                "Are you seriously going to ask her to marry you?" asked Trowa blatantly.

                Duo blinked a few times then answered with a besotted little grin, "Yes, I am."

                "Do you even _remember_ the last time you tried to propose to someone?" Quatre asked.

                Trowa nodded, "And you knew Hil for years."

                "Yeah, but it was all wrong then, you know?  I had no idea."

                "So how do you know you know now?" Quatre asked.

                "How does anyone know?  You just know.  Sometimes, you just know when you know, you know?"

                "So you think you know now?"

                "Yeah, now I know."

                "But you thought you knew then.  How do you know that your knowing now isn't like how you knew then, you know?"

                "But I _thought_ I knew then, but you can't think you know, you know?  You gotta just know you know, you know?  And I'm sure now I know I know."

                "Ok, quit it," Trowa cut in.  "Look, Duo, you're young.  You just met her—"

                "I've known her since the war, we just never—"

                "—How can you be absolutely sure that you're not chaining yourself to something you won't be able to stand in another two months?  How can you be completely in love with someone in a month?"  Trowa's green eyes met Duo's determined blues.

                "You're not much of a romantic, are you, Tro," Duo said, more a statement than a question.  "Look, ok," he said turning to face the blond of the party, "Quatre, have you ever found yourself massively attracted to someone the very first time you met them?"  Surprised at the sudden question, Quatre could only nod affirmatively to answer.  "And have you ever thought you were in love?"  Again, Quatre nodded.  "And have you ever thought you loved someone after only knowing them for a while?"  With a firm blink, Quatre nodded again.  "See?" Duo said, turning triumphantly back to Trowa, "It happens, and in my case, it happened in a month.  Hey, at least I waited a month, I got the ring two weeks ago."  With a smile he stretched his legs, stood up and walked back into the house, as completely sure of himself as he was prior to the conversation.

                "Great help you were, Quatre," Trowa said as the two men stared after their friend.

                "We'll just not mention that part to Hilde," Quatre said weakly.

                Trowa chuckled softly, "Of course."

                Hilde found Quatre out on the balcony that night completely wrapped up in thought.  When she covered his eyes, she was delighted to hear him gasp in surprise, patting herself on the back for excellent stealth maneuvers.  She laughed and leaned up against the railing beside him.  "Why so worried, Quatre?  You're not the one going through a potentially life altering crisis."

                "Hilde, you're not going to feel bad for Dorothy?  If you do break them up?"

                The girl looked over at her friend, seeing something sad in his eyes.  She frowned.  "Quatre, do you really think he loves her?"

                After a moment, he nodded, much to her surprise.  "Yes, I do."

                Her countenance showed her feelings of betrayal.  "How could he possibly know?  He said he loved _me_."

                "And you obviously think he was wrong.  So why do you want to get back with him?"

                She made a small noise of disbelief and shook her head.  "You would honestly feel sorry for her?"

                "_She_ hasn't done anything wrong."

                Hilde pushed away from the railing looking at him in hurt incredulity.  "Are you implying that _I'm_ the one doing something wrong?  I'm just trying to get back the man I love," came her forceful reply.

                "So, you love him now?"

                "I've always loved him," she nearly shouted.

                Unexpectedly, he reached out and grabbed her hand.  Looking down at her hand in his, he asked, "You love him; for certain?"

                "Yes," she said with conviction, "I wouldn't be doing this otherwise.  He's the one for me, I just know it, and I'm not willing to just let it slip away."  He was staring back into the house.  She turned around and saw Trowa abruptly turn and walk on past the balcony.  Turning back to Quatre, she found him to be smiling down at her.  He pulled her in for a warm hug, kissed the top of her head, then quit the balcony, leaving her alone to ponder her own sincerity.

                A few nights later, the group of five sat around Duo and Hilde's living room drinking and talking as they usually did.

                "_That _was a perfect date," Hilde said with a sigh, scooting a little closer to Duo who sat on her left.

                "Your perfect date is a carnival and a corndog?" Quatre asked, quite unconvinced.

                "It was nice!" Hilde protested.

                "Seriously, what would your perfect date be?"

                After a moment's consideration, she sighed and answered.  "Ok, absolute perfect date would start with an elegant dinner at a four-star restaurant.  Then we'd be dancing out on the veranda to a string quartet, playing just for us.  And he'd tell me that I'm beautiful.  He'd give me diamonds.  Then he'd kiss me, and I'd feel fireworks all up and down my body and I'd know that he loved me.  _That_ would be the perfect date," she concluded.

                "Very nice, very romantic," Dorothy complimented.

                "I'll have to remember that then," Duo said with a smile, hugging Dorothy even tighter to him.

                "Indeed," said Trowa with a smile on his lips.

                "Indeed," Quatre echoed lifting his wine glass and an eyebrow to match.

                The night continued on in similar fashion, but at last, despite the masterful manipulations of both Quatre and Trowa and the daring flirtations of Hilde, Duo and Dorothy were as inseparable as they had been when the trio first arrived.  Verging on despair, Hilde found herself once again settled comfortingly in Trowa's lap receiving her much-needed pep talk.

                "Look, he's going to ask in two days.  That means tomorrow night, you have to make your move," Trowa coached.

                "What can I do now?  For once in my life, I'm out of tricks, Trowa."

                "Well, maybe its time for that little thing we like to call- the truth," Quatre offered.

                "Nooooo," she moaned, leaning her face into Trowa's shoulder in an unsuccessful attempt to hide from the inevitable.

                "Either tell him the truth, that you love him and you want him back, or give it up," Quatre said firmly and matter-of-factly.

                That certainly provoked a reaction from her: Hilde jumped up to face her friend.  "_Gods_, Quatre!  We've been here for a week and all you've had to say to me is that they're the perfect couple, that everything I'm trying to do is wrong, that I should just give it up.  Why can't you just be supportive?"

                Quatre turned and shared a look with Trowa, which Hilde noticed immediately, and said to her with a great deal of annoyance in his voice, "You can be _really_ oblivious sometimes, Hil."  With that, he stormed out of the room, shutting the door firmly after him.

                "What was _that_ all about?" she demanded, turning to Trowa who was looking quite stunned as well.

                "Nothing," he answered decisively.  Getting up, he began to rummage around through the luggage.  After a good few moments of searching, he pulled out a sleek, black velvet box.  Handing it over to her, he smiled and sat back down on the bed.

                Upon opening it, Hilde drew in a sharp breath.  "My God, Trowa," she said looking at him with a shocked expression, "this is…"  She found herself unable to finish the sentence.

                "The four of us, we had fun that month at Quatre's, remember that," he said simply.  He nodded towards the box, "Wear it tomorrow," was all he said.

                She ran a finger over the diamonds and could only reply with a faint smile.

                The next morning, Hilde woke to the intense sound of someone knocking rapidly, repeatedly, continuously, on the door.  She crawled out of her warm bed and slithered over to the door in a state of partial consciousness.  As soon as the knob was turned, a blond head of hair invaded the doorway, the owner's face unnaturally bright for seven o'clock.

                "Wake up," he beamed.  "It's time to go shopping!"

                For five and a half hours, Quatre took her on a tour of the world's priciest shops.  They emerged victorious with three five thousand dollar dresses, five pairs of two thousand dollar shoes, and three thousand dollars worth of cosmetics.

                Collapsing bodily on an unoccupied mall bench during their last round, Hilde giggled, happily infected with spending-fever.  "I can't believe you bought me that silver thong," she laughed.

                Quatre smiled.  "That's what friends are for."  The way he said it made her turn to look at him.

                She arched her eyes inquisitively.

                He looked down at the floor for a moment, as if collecting his thoughts.  Finally he took a breath and reached for her hand.  Holding her hand in his own, he began to massage her palm, his eyebrows knitting together.

                "Hilde.  I'm sorry if I've been less than supportive these past few days, but really you can't blame me.  I wasn't trying to buy your forgiveness with all this; I just wanted to show you that I'm here to support you.  To support you in everything you do."

                She started to reply, but he shook his head.

                "I support you, Hilde, but I need for you to do something for me.  I need you to look me in the eye and tell me that you are in love with Duo, that there isn't a single man besides him, not one, who you are even slightly interested in."

                She felt the anger rising in her chest.  She was sick of defending herself.  She was about to say so when the hand around hers tightened.

                "This is your last chance to back out, Hilde.  Tonight will change everything.  You'll have made a commitment.  If Duo says yes, you're going to get married.  Do you get that?"

                Marriage?  "What?" she stuttered.  "I never said anything about marriage."

                "Duo's ready.  He's ready to settle down.  He was a long time ago.  That's why he asked you all those months ago.  If you win him back, you'd better be ready for what he's asking for.  Are you ready for that kind of commitment, Hil?"

                She blinked, feeling flustered and confused.  She'd never thought about that.  She had always assumed that she would win him back, they would be in love, and they'd be just like they used to be.  She'd forgotten about the proposal completely.  She hadn't been ready then.  Was she now?

                "Hil?"

                She shook her head.  "Yes, Quatre.  I'm ready.  I love him; I want to be with him."

                "Are you ready for marriage?"

                "If he loves me he'll wait."

                "He's in love with Dorothy."

                "He just wants to get married.  That's the only reason he's even remotely interested in Dorothy."

                "She'll say 'yes.'"

                Hilde blinked angrily.  "And so will I," she huffed.  "Are we done?  I want to go home."  She pulled her hand out of his grasp and folded her arms across her chest.

                He reached out and brushed a lock of hair from her eyes.  "There are other men in the world who love you, who would wait for you."

                She pulled away from him and stood up angrily.  "I'm in love with Duo.  I'm not interested in any other person.  I'm doing this tonight, whether you think I should or not."  With that, she stomped off toward the exit leaving Quatre to follow quietly behind her.

                "This is it."

                "Um hm."

                "Have faith.  It'll work out in the end."

                "Um hm."

                "Look happy for her when she comes in."

                "This is it, you guys," Hilde smiled nervously.  She fidgeted with her overpriced dress and tucked a highly styled lock of hair behind her ear.

                "We'll take Dorothy out; you'll have him for a couple of hours, best we can do," Quatre said as he fixed his tie.

                "Thanks, you guys," she said quietly, practically a whisper.

                Trowa bent over and kissed her on the forehead.  "Good luck," he said gently before slipping silently out the door, jacket in hand.

                Quatre sighed and smiled.  "You look great."  He put a finger to her chin and kissed her cheek.  "Good luck, Hilde.  I mean it."  Then he walked out the door, leaving her standing there in four-inch heels with her hand on the diamonds around her neck.

                Quatre and Trowa had arranged everything perfectly.  Beside the balcony, the table was set for an intimate dinner for two, candlelight and fine wine included.  Tender strings of moonlight drifted down through the window, mingling with the mild urban glow.

                "You look great, Hil.  Is there something we're celebrating that I don't know about?" Duo asked with an easily contrite smile.

                She shook her head, feeling her earrings swing gently and the necklace slide slightly to the right.  She adjusted it so it hung perfectly and smiled back at him.

                "Nice diamonds," Duo said as an afterthought, leaning in to take a better look.  He gave an impressed whistle before sitting down at the table.

                She pulled out her seat and sat herself down, looking across at this man, her best friend.  He was her best friend.

                "Duo?" she said suddenly.  Screw dinner, she thought to herself.

                He looked up at her expectantly with the countenance of perfect comfort and ease.  "Hm?"

                "Want to dance?"

                His brows came down a bit, but he smiled at her and nodded.

                She stepped into the circle of his arms, feeling her heart beating in her chest as if it was sitting in the palm of her hand.

                "Hilde?" Duo began.  "Tomorrow's the big day, you know.  I'm going to-"

                In a moment of panic, she cut him off.  Wrapping her arm around his waist, she pressed a fervent kiss to his lips and asked: "Marry me?"

                Dorothy walked in on the dinner a few minutes later.  She evaluated the scene before her.  Hilde had one arm wrapped around Duo's waist, the other was grasping at the front of his shirt.  "I forgot my purse," she said calmly.

                Turning at the sound of his lover's voice, Duo extricated himself from Hilde's pleading eyes and urgent embrace.  Dropping a kiss on the top of her head, he pulled away slowly and smiled a sad smile.  "I'm sorry, Hil."

                He walked across the length of the room to join Dorothy at the doorway; each step was a mile, taking him further and further away.  Hilde could only watch him leave her.

                As they closed the door behind them, Dorothy put her hand on his elbow, the most natural place for her to be.  She leaned her head on his shoulder.  "You're lucky I'm not the jealous type."

                Duo shook his head.  "Hilde's my best friend."  He took Dorothy's hand and kissed her pale wrist.

                Coming towards them from the driveway was a man in a black tuxedo.  "Sorry about that," he said.

                Duo shook his head again and grasped the man's hand.  "Good luck, then."

                The man looked surprised, but he only nodded, and headed for the house.

                In a puddle of moonlight, Hilde was somehow painfully aware that her mascara was running.  Her breath came in little hiccups that made her shoulders hitch up unwillingly.  She looked out the window at the city below.  "Down there, someone said 'yes,'" she said to herself.  The door opened quietly, and closed again unhurriedly.  He came towards her a few steps and then stopped.

                "It's over," she said to him, wiping the childish tears away with disdain.  "I don't know why I'm crying.  I never cry."  She tried to laugh.  He walked up beside her and helped her to her feet.

                She pulled off her heels and looked up at him, noticing for the first time that he was close to her.  "Want to dance?" he asked.  Without waiting for a reply, he opened the balcony door and escorted her outside into the cool evening air.  She fell into his arms like a frightened child.  Tears stained his shirt, and her shoulders shook, but she remained silent.

                'What a disaster,' she thought to herself.  'I'm such an idiot.'  She pressed further into his chest.

                They swayed lightly, easily, and she realized at last that he was humming quietly.  Her eyes closed and she focused on the gentle vibrations emanating from his chest.

                "I don't want to be alone," she whispered at last, giving voice to the little secret.

                They danced for centuries, and when at last her shoulders stilled and his shirt was dry, he raised her chin to look her in the eye.  "Hilde, I need to tell you something."

                She looked into his eyes and smiled as best she could.

                He brushed a lock of hair from her eyes.  "You're beautiful."

                She blinked because her mind was suddenly reeling.  It was then that she looked back at the candlelight dinner; it was then that she realized they weren't dancing to his humming anymore.  She pulled away from him and hurried over to the balcony's edge.  Looking down, she had to press a hand to her lips: a string quartet!

                Turning, she confronted him.  Pressing a hand to her throat, she said, "You."  The diamonds felt warm under her touch.

                He nodded slowly and took the three precious steps that brought him to her.  "You're so beautiful," he said.

                Then he kissed her.

                "So?" he said at last, pulling away from the kiss, a smile now on his lips.  "Anything?" he asked leaning in towards her expectantly with his eyes raised.

                She was, for once, speechless.  He looked down, not in disappointment, but with a playful smile on his face.

                "Hm, maybe this will help," he said quietly, pointing up to the sky.

                Curious, she looked up just as bursts of red, blue, yellow, and all the other colors of the rainbow exploded across the night sky to bring a new light to her world.

                "Fireworks!" she said breathlessly, looking up into Quatre's eyes.

                He only nodded and smiled at her.  Holding her close, he made a promise.  "I'll wait for you.  Because I love you."

                And then she began to cry.

                Much later, when they returned to Quatre's estate, Catherine was the first to congratulate them and also the first to say, "I told you so."  For his contributing efforts, Trowa was promoted to captain matchmaker.  On the night after, Dorothy said 'yes,' and Duo nearly passed out.  As for the new happy couple, Quatre kept his promise and waited; he was rewarded in the end.  Hilde took him out to a carnival and bought him a corndog.

                But on this night, while the moon watched and the city slept, two lives were stitched together by diamonds.  It is thus, slowly and spectacularly, that the caterpillar reveals her secret.

THE END


End file.
